Odd Lots · Friday, September 25, 2026
While generative AI is widely used as a search engine, its direct impact on Hollywood writers has been limited so far, with studios not yet replacing writers' rooms with AI. However, AI poses an immediate and significant threat to 'below-the-line' jobs, including hair and makeup, set design, and grips, due to the potential for widespread job loss that could have major ripple effects on the local Los Angeles economy.
“When it comes to the work that writers are doing, obviously you can't police what people do in their own homes. But it has not come for writers' rooms in the same way. Studios aren't saying, like, we got this. We're just going to have AI take care of this so far.”
“There is still a lot of stigma on my. Podcasts we had a guest on recently who had been involved in a project that had one piece of it that had apparently been done with some AI. And there was like a pushback about that just because right now it is such a threat. Yeah. uh to jobs to like the the below the line economy in the city we call it like uh is uh but what is what does that mean below the line they're like anyone who works on the production side oh i see yeah”